Taking Visionaire Private

Visionaire, the triannual art-meets-fashion publication that has tackled themes ranging from power and desire to Cinderella and the color blue, is getting back to its limited-edition roots in November, when they’ll publish their 52nd issue: “Private,” a book of photographs by famed fashion snappers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott tucked inside a gold monogrammed case by Louis Vuitton. Pre-order yours today ($375 plus shipping).

Guest Editor (and Vuitton creative director) Marc Jacobs worked with Mert n’ Marcus on the series of “personal” (read: mostly nude) portraits of some of his fashionable friends, including Drew Barrymore, Selma Blair, and Lil’ Kim. “Private” is Visionaire‘s third collaboration with Vuitton. To celebrate, Visionaire will sell a few rare copies of the last collaboration, “Fashion Special” (issue 18), a highly coveted–and similarly LV-encased–issue that featured such memorable spreads as Craig McDean and M/M Paris‘s life-size foldout of a model clad in Comme des Garçons.

Founded in 1991 by Stephen Gan, James Kaliardos, and Cecilia Dean, Visionaire straddles the categories of fashion magazine, artist’s book, and design object. They also seem to function as a repository of art directorial and editorial dreams. One issue consisted entirely of memos sent by Diana Vreeland. Others included latex, embroidery, lenticular screens, flipbooks, flavor-infused plastic strips, and a swatch of the bedsheets of supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

Meanwhile, now on view at the Visionaire gallery in New York is issue 51, “Harmony,” a series of jigsaw puzzles designed by artists including Richard Misrach and Maurizio Cattelan. Vik Muniz goes for the mise en abyme, making a puzzle out of an image of puzzle pieces.